Fantasy Tip: Blount started camp on the Non-Football Injury list but was able to pass his conditioning test. Blount should receive a majority of the carries this season and could be a middle-round draft choice even though he will miss the first game of the season.

New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount was placed on the Non-Football Injury list because he was not able to complete the conditioning test at the start of training camp. Players have to run 20 sprints of 50 yards in under eight seconds to pass the test, but Blount was only able to complete 12 reps.

Fantasy Tip: Blount likely will be activated at some point during camp when he improves his conditioning. Blount is the leading candidate to receive most of the carries this season and could be a middle-round option in drafts if he is in good shape.

Fantasy Tip: Blount is already suspended for the first game of the season, and he is expected to be available for the remaining 15 games. He should be the Patriots' lead back after Week 1 and is worth at least drafting as a RB3.

Fantasy Tip: As it stands, there's no telling who could be the main beneficiary in Week 1 for the Patriots. Travaris Cadet will probably have the most value in point-per-reception leagues, while Jonas Gray seems like the better play from a standard scoring perspective.

Fantasy Tip: Looking ahead to Sunday, Blount ($7,777; 15.5% of your cap) is a risky pick on FantasyScore when Marshawn Lynch is the same price. It's very possible the Pats use Blount to wear down the Seattle Seahawks defense. However, we'd much rather have Lynch at an equal price.

New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount should be a factor in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, Feb. 1, in the opinion of Boston Herald writer Karen Guregian. Despite Seattle's highly ranked run defense, they lost games earlier this season to both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys, who used run-heavy game plans. The Green Bay Packers also had early success on the ground against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. The Packers opened up holes by overloading lanes with pulling linemen, which is something the Patriots like to do with their guards and tackles. If the Patriots stay away from the run, Seattle's linebackers will drop back in zone coverage, making it tougher on the Patriots' passing game.

Fantasy Tip: The Patriots ran the ball just 14 times against the top-ranked run defense of the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs, but using Blount on the ground against Seattle should help open the passing game against the Seahawks’ tough secondary. The run game could also be used to exploit injured FS Earl Thomas (shoulder).

New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in the team's win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game Sunday, Jan. 18. "He makes contact on every play and seems to enjoy it. He's like a boxer throwing body punches. Eventually, he wears guys down and starts breaking those big runs," OG Ryan Wendell said. Blount played 42 offensive snaps in the game, passing his previous season high of 30. He also ran for 69 yards after contact against the Colts, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Fantasy Tip: Blount has been the power back that the Patriots have needed down the stretch, but it's too hard to say how valuable he'll be in New England for fantasy owners next season, especially the way Bill Belichick changes up his backfield usage on a game-by-game basis.

New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount ran for 166 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional matchup between the two teams in 2013, and RB Jonas Gray slashed Indy for 201 yards on the ground this past November. The Patriots used an offense that featured a power-back look with a sixth offensive lineman against the Colts in November. "As a defensive player, you don't want to ever have that happen again," Colts DE Cory Redding said. "We didn't have our best game. It's up to us to do what we've done the past few weeks, to make sure that never happens again." New England rushed for just 14 total yards in their divisional win over the Baltimore Ravens last weekend, but they pretty much abandoned the run in the second half.

Fantasy Tip: Don't expect a repeat performance for Gray ($3,400, 6.8% of cap), who has fallen down the running back depth chart. Gray didn't even have a single carry in last weekend's game. It's always dicey going with a Patriots running back at FantasyScore, but this might be the week to put faith in Blount ($4,500, 9.0% of cap).